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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29972040">Doctor Mayor Cassandra Morrow, MD (Many Doctorates)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AthenaVine/pseuds/AthenaVine'>AthenaVine</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Join the Party (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon-adjacent, F/F, Intimacy, Mad Science, Original Character(s), Slow Burn, The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 03:20:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,799</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29972040</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AthenaVine/pseuds/AthenaVine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After eight straight days in her lab, Doctor Mayor Morrow gets dragged away from Science for her own good.  Her assistant, Vella, knows the woods around Lake Town City like that back of her hands, and takes the mayor on a mushroom hunt to get some fresh air.  A moment in the marshes unnerves them both.</p><p>Vella sweats it out.  Cassandra cooks.  January thinks people are being weird. The mayor makes a decision.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Doctor Mayor Morrow/OC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>While this work jumps off from Join the Party Campaign 2 and is loyal to the source, the addition of an OC makes this non-canon-compliant.  Please do not share this work with the Multidudes for ANY reason, so as not to muddy their beautiful work with the fact the Doctor Mayor Morrow is smokin'.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s been eight days.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vella had been quietly working for Doctor Mayor Cassandra Morrow for several years, and felt familiar tension build in the cabin as Doctor Morrow descended into the lab eight days ago. She surfaced briefly and infrequently to rummage through the kitchen, which Vella then cleaned and restocked.  Doctor Morrow been down the rabbit hole for too long again, a manic whirl of creativity and science punctuated by the odd genuine cackle.  Eight days this time--a new record for Vella, but assuredly not for the good doctor mayor.  The kitchen had run out of mugs, but science did not currently allow Vella to remove any to clean and return full of coffee that would again go half-drunk.  January threw his paws up two days ago after accidentally knocking over a precarious experiment, and had been binging Top Chef and knitting ever since.  Dez had seen the writing on the wall even before Dr. Morrow had retreated entirely to the lab, and had bounced off to K2 for a couple of weeks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moment Vella knew she ought to intervene came, not as the usual crash-explosion combo, but this time as a deep, visceral howl of frustration echoing up the staircase. Followed by a crash.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Kay!” she cried, half-startled, and flung her arms up in defeat. Wrenching herself out of an overstuffed armchair, she trudged to the stairlift that wound down three floors to the lab.  No smoke wafted up from below, which was encouraging, but the crashing noises continued. Vella could hear yelling, but no words were to be made out as Dr. Morrow’s apparent rage made itself known. She pulled in a deep breath and bellowed “TIME!” down the stairwell.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“NO!” came drifting back up to her, and she smiled. Science is not so easily stopped, even when it isn’t going well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YEAH DOCTOR MORROW,” she called back through the grin. “IT’S TIME.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>More crashing and wordless yelling. Vella stepped onto the lift and pressed the down arrow twice—mid-speed. As the lift wound downward, the wind lifting her hair away from her face, the crashing grew louder and the yelling more distinct.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“—CAN I BE EXPECTED TO DO SCIENCE WITH ALL THESE INTERRUPTIONS! GAH!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The state of the lab had definitely deteriorated in the time since Vella had brought down lunch (which the mad scientist had actually deigned to eat some of this time), and it was difficult to pick her way between the chaos over to the epicenter, where Dr. Morrow blustered about, slamming equipment around her favorite worktable and cursing loudly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The deal is I interrupt you for food, water, and emergencies, Dr. Morrow,” Vella said.  “Which other interruptions are bothering you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“These!” she answered, gesturing wildly at an array of microscopes arranged on her worktop.  The beaker in her hand sloshed, but narrowly avoided splashing everywhere.  “None of these samples are ready and I need to know how they behave when they’ve MATURED.”  Each microscope had a prepared slide under the lens.  The samples of which she spoke gave off differing levels of the same faint purple aura as the mushrooms the LT3 had found in the mob warehouse.  Dr. Morrow flitted from scope to scope, peering through and letting out a disgusted snort at each one.</span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vella picked her way over to the worktop and looked at the nearest slide.  The cells of the fungus were plainly visible, and she automatically began labelling bits of them like a diagram in her mind.  School habits die hard.  Interestingly, small sparks of light occasionally flared between the cell walls, but fizzled out almost as soon as they caught the eye.  It took just a moment for Vella to add a few things together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve been waiting for these to mature for a while?” she asked.  “And the sparks are encouraging but not enough, I’m guessing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” Cassandra cried, sounding relieved that Vella had hit the right nail on the head.  “I thought the Diaphorum exposure would kickstart growth, but that APPARENTLY ISN’T how it works.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vella nodded.  Not because she understood the science, a rarity, but because this made the mad mayor’s frustration understandable, and thus the solution simple.  “Let’s get you outside for a little bit, Dr. Morrow,” she suggested lightly.  Prying Dr. Mayor Morrow out of the lab required delicacy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need.  To figure this out,” she muttered, eyes back on a scope.</span>
  <span></span><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“You need a break,” Vella countered, a stern note creeping into her voice.  “You’re not going to get anything productive done until the samples mature anyway.  Come shake the cobwebs out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cassandra waved a hand over her shoulder.  Most people would take the gesture as a dismissal, but Vella took it for the wait-a-moment it really was.  Without a word, she slid a pad of paper next to Cassandra’s left hand and drew back again to watch as the good doctor pulled a pen from the mass of hair piled on top of her head and began to scratch out notes on it.  Several minutes later, she huffed out a deep sigh and dropped the pen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she finally agreed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Dr. Morrow,” Vella said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a grunt of acknowledgement, Cassandra turned and stalked toward the lift.  Vella began to grab the nearest half dozen cups, but at the first clink, Cassandra called “Don’t touch those!” over her shoulder.  Vella sighed, but left them alone and followed the mayor up and out of the lab.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Frustration is the enemy of science.</p><p>(Chapter Rating: Gen)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Well, I’m outside and I still don’t have answers!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doctor Mayor Morrow had stalked out of the house, Vella trailing, and paced in circles around her thinking rock several times before her frustration took over again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vella held out a bottle of Morrow-ade (green, Now With More Electrons!) and sighed gently.  “It’s been eight days, Dr. Morrow,” she said, tapping the doctor on the elbow with the end of the bottle until she took it and cracked it open.  “I think it might take a little more than five minutes’ pacing to dig your brain out of the trenches.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dr. Morrow glared at her, but shrugged, drank the entire bottle in one go, and slumped onto the thinking rock.  Satisfied, Vella took the bottle back and tucked it into the go bag at her hip.  The doctor settled into a resting yoga pose perched atop the rock, eyes closed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Five minutes,” Dr. Morrow murmured.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Five minutes,” Vella agreed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Silence fell upon the sun-dappled shade of the back yard.  Vella watched Dr. Morrow until her face relaxed as her thoughts fell in line, then turned her back and wandered aimlessly to the edge of the trees.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a moment, she saw nothing but adirondack trees, their tops swaying in the deep spring breeze.  Vella took a deep breath, filling her body with the smell of new forest life, and let it out.  It settled her own thoughts, and the details of the forest grew sharper.  Red squirrels leaped from branch to branch high above.  Every landing launched a shower of leaves and blossoms that drifted gently down to the forest floor.  Two rabbits darted between cover, bursting forth with frantic energy and bounding for the dark safety of their warren.  The sound of birdsong wound between it all, chaotic call and response melodies from all directions, both a distraction and a focus.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From behind her, in the middle of the clearing that made Dr. Morrow’s back yard, Vella became aware of the sound of restless fidgeting.  She turned to see the doctor’s face creased with a frown again, her hands reaching for phantom tools.  A glance at her phone told Vella it had not yet been the agreed-upon five minutes, but that mattered very little.  It was time for a better distraction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Time,” Vella said gently, turning back to face the forest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cassandra heaved a deep breath in and back out.  Vella heard several pops as the doctor stretched, the crack of a twig as she stepped down from her thinking rock, and the muffled steps she took away from it, coming up behind her to look out at the same vista.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” came quiet words as Cassandra moved beside her and took in the movement of the forest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course, Dr. Morrow,” Vella replied.  She pulled herself out of the details in front of her and refocused on the doctor.  Cassandra’s whole body moved a little looser than it had before, though her hands still curled and uncurled, clearly itching to get back to work.  Nothing was likely to have changed in the samples in the last ten minutes, though, and they both knew it.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vella reached into the go bag, pulled out a small device and powered it on.  The antenna on it sparked and then began to blink lethargically.  She handed the device to Dr. Morrow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to need a second round of samples to compare to group A,” she said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cassandra’s face broke into a wide smile.  “You’re right,” she said, without turning away from the beauty of the forest around her home.  “Let’s go find some mushrooms.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Doctor Morrow chases delta radiation.  Vella looks for mushrooms.  Something is amiss.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter Rating: General Audiences</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>With a shout to January to let him know they were leaving, Vella ushered Doctor Mayor Morrow into a nondescript sedan.  Its bland color and darkened windows provided the mayor with some anonymity, should she need it.  They weren’t likely to meet anyone out in the marshes, but it’s always better not to advertise when Doctor Morrow is out and about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Safely ensconced in the passenger seat, Doctor Morrow rummaged through the go bag Vella slung between the seats, pulled out a miniature tool box, and set to work making adjustments to the Geiger counter (“Morrow counter! They find different stuff!”) in her lap.  As Vella pulled the car out of the garage and set off down the estate’s drive, she tightened a bolt at the base of the antenna and it sparked.  Satisfied, Doctor Morrow tucked it to the side.  She pulled another pad of paper out of the bag, another pen from her hair, and hunched down in the seat to scratch out her thoughts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The drive down to the marshes was quick and uneventful.  Vella turned up the radio and sang most of the way while the doctor was lost in her notes.  As they passed the Rail Station exit, Vella turned the radio back down and gently touched the doctor’s arm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Almost there, Doctor Morrow,” she said.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doctor nodded, added another note or two, flipped a page and labelled it for the return trip’s notes.  She dropped the pad and pen on the dashboard and dug through the go bag once again, this time surfacing with a granola bar and bottle of tylenol.  Vella took three turns down random dirt roads, winding the car deeper into the marshes, far from the things of man.  While she did, Cassandra unwrapped the bar and handed it to Vella, then two pills from the bottle, both of which Vella downed gratefully after parking at an unmarked spot by the road.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ground around the car was damp.  The tire tracks behind it already has tiny pools of water welling up in the rubber’s indentations.  Away from the road, trees rose haphazardly, their feet obscured by fog rising from the ground.  The sounds of life here were muffled by moss, but the smell--dark and earthy, rich and damp--overpowered even the din of bird calls.  Vella breathed deep as she stepped out of the car, her foot sinking into the soft ground.  This would be a good hunting trip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doctor Morrow had already escaped the car and fired up the Morrow counter again.  No sparks this time, but the indicator light flashed more quickly here than it had at home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ready?” asked the mad scientist, already following her invention, a will-o-the-wisp in the mid-afternoon gloom of the marsh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lead the way, Doctor Morrow,” Vella said with a grin, and trailed along behind.  While the mad doctor mayor wandered between the trees, Vella put their coordinates into a mapping app and laid a virtual grid across an acre of wetland.  As Cassandra chased radiation across the map, Vella marked pocket locations and deadzones and kept the doctor from backtracking over points where supertruffles (name pending) were not to be found.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Several pockets of delta radiation were tucked here and there, mostly near old deadfalls, but none of them were yielding the mushrooms Doctor Morrow needed, and her annoyance mounted obviously with each disappointing location.  She pressed Vella into helping lift a rotting log away, and when the underside gave only insects and lichen, she huffed and leaned back on her heels.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Clearly my search pattern isn’t working, Vella,” she admitted.  “Would you do the thing, please?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vella brushed the dirt off her hands and knees and shifted the go bag to sit behind her.  “Of course,” she said, standing.  She looked around for a moment, then closed her eyes and breathed in.  With the breath out, light pulsed from her body out into the surrounding landscape like a wave, washing over everything in sight.  She took several moments to process, and then lifted her arm to point unerringly to the northeast.  “That way,” she said confidently, leading Cassandra to a copse of trees a short distance from the last disappointment.  As they drew nearer, Vella’s heart skipped a beat in excitement, but she kept it to herself.  “Here,” she said, resting her hand on the closest tree.  It was a twisted, gnarled thing, but it radiated young, spring life at her touch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doctor Morrow aimed the Morrow counter at the stand of trees and waited, but the machine gave no indication of radiation.  “Hm,” she muttered.  “No delta presence at all in this section, and this growth looks new.”  The implicated “Are you sure?” hung in the air without actually being said aloud.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vella smiled and raised a brow.  “Trust me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cassandra tucked the Morrow counter into the go bag and plunged into the stand of trees.  Her eyes combed through the thick undergrowth, followed by her hands--thought followed by deed as she searched for what Vella knew to be hidden.  Vella watched, anticipation growing as Cassandra dug through the soft earth beneath the plants.  When at last the intrepid scientist exclaimed discovery, Vella laughed delightedly.  Cassandra straightened, still on her knees, and pulled a handful of clumped dirt up for inspection.  She crumbled the loose earth away, letting it fall through her fingers and leaving two egg-sized truffles on her palm, where they almost glowed with a soft purple haze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The thrill of discovery lit Cassandra’s face like a lightning bolt, throwing sparks behind her eyes and cracking her broad smile into a gape of wonder.  She held the truffles out to Vella, who stood waiting with several sample bags at the ready. Her hands freed, Cassandra immediately bent to the earth again, long fingers gently parting the plant roots in search of more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look at this!” she cried, pulling another handful from the ground and dropping them into the bag Vella had knelt to hold close.  “It must be a whole colony under here. What if the trees are feeding off whatever byproducts the truffles produce as they digest the radiation? Maybe the trees are part of the colony too, maybe the truffles have processed all the delta radiation in this area which allowed the trees to grow like this in, what, 30 years? What if…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vella listened intently as Cassandra’s thoughts poured from her lips like water, dutifully bagging and labelling each sample as the doctor dug them from the soil.  They moved here and there within the stand of trees, and Doctor Morrow spoke fervently, spouting mycology briefs and synthesizing her own ideas out of them as fast as mushrooms sprouted at her knees.  The play of lightning behind her eyes was intense as she waxed on, a shock with every glance upward. Finally, after more than twenty minutes of crawling through the dirt, Cassandra sat back on her heels.  Vella listened as the doctor continued to wonder aloud about mushrooms and Diaphorum, attention rapt and a gentle smile upon her lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“--if we could replicate the Diaphorum release in lab conditions…” Cassandra trailed off mid-sentence, her eyes on Vella’s.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately alert, Vella waited while Doctor Morrow’s eyes hardened.  Instead of flickering to the ground, or even to the marsh behind Vella, though, her eyes remained still, locked with Vella’s with almost alarming intensity.  “Doctor Morrow?” she asked tentatively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cassandra’s face cleared and the moment passed.  “Nothing,” she said and stood, wiping the dirt from her knees brusquely.  “We should get these back to the lab.  I can start processing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Doctor Morrow,” Vella answered.  Together, they gathered up the collected samples and made their way back to the car.</span>
</p>
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